Power regulation (either current or voltage) is commonly employed to provide stable power to electrical devices. Common regulators include both linear regulators and switching regulators. Linear regulators are often used in low noise applications and for simplicity, especially when efficiency is not important. Switching regulators are commonly employed where size and efficiency are important. For example, switching regulators are often used in applications where high load current is required. Higher efficiency results in less heat and thus simplifies heat dissipation considerations.
Regulators are commonly arranged to compare an output current or output voltage with a reference source to provide an error sense signal regarding the status of the output. This error sense signal may be proportionally related to an average output value and may also be used to control the operation of the regulator. For example, the error sense signal may be used to increase the power delivered to the load, decrease the power delivered to the load, selectively couple an input node to an output node, change switching frequency, and/or other similar acts.